17 Lives
New York, NY
2017, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
I walk to the kitchen.
10 seconds.
I lie down on my bed.
3 seconds.
I sit back and relax.
4 seconds.
17 seconds.
17 animals dead.
17 lives taken.
Taken by our plastic.
Taken by our styrofoam.
Taken by our carelessness.
17 lives taken because
We were too lazy to walk
Over to the trashcan.
So we threw it in the river.
And the river goes to the ocean.
And the ocean is where the fish are.
And the ocean is where the plastic is.
And the plastic is taking lives.
17 lives.
Reflection
Reflection
Ocean pollution makes me feel like I have a giant rope inside of myself, slowly knotting tighter every time I hear more about its effects. Basically, my inspiration was the terrible effects that our garbage has on the living things residing in the ocean. I was inspired by the deaths of flora and fauna alike. We think of ourselves (humans) as the center of the world. The center of what is important. We don’t give a second thought about the animals in the water when we toss an empty plastic water bottle into the ocean. Even the smallest of actions can take a toll on the environment and the world around us. Whether we think about it or not, everything comes back around. Be it good karma or bad karma. If we continue to destroy our aquatic ecosystems, then it will more likely than not be bad karma swinging back at us, and it’s just over the horizon.